New England Asters are some of my favorite flowers. I know when the asters bloom in my garden that fall is truly here and the calendar year is coming to the end. New York asters are similar flowers. I am not sure what the difference is between the two species. They both are great for […]
flowers
Pollinator Syndromes: How to Predict Which Flowers Insects Will Like
Pollinators are those animals that give the invaluable service of helping plants reproduce and create seed or fruit that humans and others eat. There are many pollinators including bats, bees, beetles, birds and butterflies. The flower type, shape, color, odor, nectar, and structure vary and attract different pollinators according to the pollinators likes and needs. […]
A List of Common Exotic Invasive Plants
Invasive exotic plants are plants that are not indigenous to an area but nevertheless have established themselves and reproduced. Not being indigenous to an area, the plants have no natural predators or diseases. This freedom from predators and diseases enables the exotic plants to spread unchecked. Exotic invasive plants run rampant and inhabit space that […]
Native Plants with Neat Growing Habits
In helping clients decide which native plants to place in gardens, I am often asked for plants that are “neat” in habit. I don’t know if this is because they fear native plants are “messy” or they are just neatniks. What I suggest are these plants which grow in easily managed clumps. When you choose […]
Plants for a Sunny and Dry Garden
Sometimes there is a spot that is like its’ own mini-desert. The soil is thin and dry and the spot receives full sun all day. What is a native plant lover to do? Plant the toughest customers you can find, that’s what. Curl up with a good native plant book, like Native Plants of the […]
Long Bloomers: Native Flowers That Bloom A Long Time
There are few perennials that bloom for more than a month or two. Generally, to get a long season bloom, gardeners may have to resort to annuals from other places. But native plant gardeners have plants that will bloom for a long time. Many of the native perennials listed below have been tinkered with. Breeders […]
Spring Blooming Native Plants of Philadelphia
This is a selected list of blooming plants indigenous to the City of Philadelphia. It is not a list of all plants native to the City, but plants that are readily available as plants or seeds for plant nurseries. There are other plants native to the surrounding area, that are fine to add to Philadelphia […]
Just When the Garden Needs a Punch of Color, Summer Phlox Delivers
Last week we finished our fourth heat wave here in Philly and the Summer Phlox bloomed and bloomed thorough it all. It’s a gorgeous hot pink through high heat and humidity. Summer Phlox (Phlox Paniculata) gives a gorgeous punch of color right when my garden can look dry and stressed-out from the high heat and […]
A Magnificent Magnolia
Sweetbay Magnolia has began to bloom early this spring. In the dark shade of a woods, the tall shrub glows with the soft white creaminess of large blossoms that seemly float in mid-air. I went to Temple University’s Ambler campus arboretum especially to see who was blooming. The Magnolia virginiana L., along the walkway, was just beginning […]
White Snakeroot, Pretty but Poisonous
White Snakeroot is blooming all over the place. This pretty plant with small white flowers is a native of eastern woodlands in North America. The plant grows naturally in the shade or partial shade and rich soils of the eastern forests. The slightly wrinkled dark green leaves look like those of nettle plants. It is one of the […]